Compassionate investment? Diaspora contribution to poverty alleviation in Francophone West Africa

<p>This chapter examines the input of the Francophone African diaspora in development effort in the region. The example of Côte d’Ivoire is particularly highlighted because it is the largest economy in Francophone West African and a dominant economy in the Francophone world in Africa. The chapter examines the construction of the remittances sent to the region and the direct invest by members of the diaspora in the home country. A critical line of argument is that the funds that feed remittances and diaspora directly investment are hard earned at the cost of the diaspora’s work life balance. Many diaspora investors had to take multiple jobs, often low paid, to fund ventures in the country of origin. However, much of the investment, whether in remittances or direct venture creation, are made with limited expectations of financial return on investment, but psychological return, hence the concept of compassionate investment introduced in this chapter.</p>